Lewis B. Williams, Jr.

Lewis Burwell Williams, Jr. (13 September 1833-3 July 1863) was a colonel of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Biography
Lewis Burwell Williams, Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1833, the son of an anti-secession state legislator and the first cousin of Waller T. Patton. Williams graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1855, and he became a Captain in the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army when the American Civil War broke out. He later rose to the rank of colonel and took command of the 1st Virginia Regiment, which was attached to James L. Kemper's regiment of George Pickett's division in the Army of Northern Virginia. Williams was ill at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, but he decided to lead his men on horseback during Pickett's charge against Cemetery Ridge. Williams was thrown from his saddle by a shell explosion, and he landed on his sword and was mortally wounded. His regiment would suffer 80% losses during the battle, and his cousin Waller T. Patton was also mortally wounded during the charge.